Best lenders for buying a flat?

hedgehopper_2

Hi everyone. My partner and I are first-time buyers in London and are looking to buy a 2-bedroom flat.

We've been a bit shocked to find the extent to which the fact of it being a flat or maisonette limits the range of mortgages available to us, and the impact it has on deposit (most lenders want LTV of 70% and we can only realistically do 80%).

It strikes me that a lot of people must be caught out by this, particularly in London where (a) the vast majority of first time buyers can only afford flats and (b) the value of all properties is higher, thus making deposits much larger. We have up to 65k available and frankly were not expecting such restrictions on that front. We were quite willing to put down as much in deposit as possible as we don't want huge repayments, but equally we can't stump up any more than 20% and are not really in a position to carry on renting for another year.

What I'm hoping is that there might be certain lenders who specialise in lending to people looking to buy flats in areas where prices are higher, and re-sale is easier, so that this whole house/flat distinction is not considered such a huge factor. So far, we've only spoken to a handful of lenders, but the response has always been the same.

Are there any lenders who are addressing this problem? We CAN'T be alone in this!

Thanks so much! :mad:

_Andy_

Is this a new-build flat?

hedgehopper_2

Andy> The specific place we have in mind is a conversion, but the advice we've had thus far is that the only factor is house/vs flat. If there is a new-build/conversion element as well, I don't know about it!

herbiesjp

Indeed - if classed as a newbuild by the lender (they have varying definitions) the maximum loan will be lower than if classed as a normal "second hand" sale.

herbiesjp

Is it a recent conversion?

If it is an "old" property you should be able to find lenders at higher LTVs

hedgehopper_2

herbiesjp> No, it's in a Victorian house. So would you say that's usually considered more important than house v flat?

herbiesjp

Not sure what you mean by important.

If the conversion has been done a while ago, most lenders will treat in the same way as a house in terms of deposit requirements (some lenders may ask for a little more).

hedgehopper_2

by 'important', I just mean how much it will limit the number of products available, size of deposit needed, etc.

I don't think we were asked anything about the age or type of flat, so I had assumed that the definition applied to flats of all kinds and perhaps a longer conversation would have cleared that up. It's good to know that it being an older place could work in our favour then, thanks.

herbiesjp

You should have 80% options to you.

Whereabouts in London are you looking at?

hedgehopper_2

Various bits of North London, mostly within zone 2. Stamford Hill for the one I'm using as my main example here!

Any particular lenders you'd recommend?